Fuck the Main$tream are an American Punk Metal Industrial band from South Texas best known for their wild shows, solid brooding tunes and social critiques. If a band can be "serious" and still have & be "fun" then that is this group. The history of Fuck the Mainstream is a long and troubled tale of perseverance against unfavorable odds. The group itself was formed in the small rural South Texas town of Beeville in late1999. By April 2000 they had a name and were ready to track some noise. The original line up consisted of Will Thompson aka Dwill/WilT(vocals/guitar), Chad Doubrava aka the Spyda (geetar/vox), and Carlos Gonzales aka Solrac(bass/vox). The three had attended the same pre-K together as kids and had known each other since the age of 4. They were all high school freshmen when they decided to start their musical journey. At that time they had no drummer, but this didn't stop them from performing house parties! During this time they recorded 4 or 5 very horrible straight to 8-track demos which shall remain nameless here. Shortly thereafter, they felt as though something was missing from the group and they welcomed longtime friend Carrie Ayala aka Karebear/Shy Sensitive Flower to the line up as fill-in bassist, then as rhythm guitarist. Chad's family ended up moving a few months after Carrie joined and she ended up taking over the duties of Lead Guitar. They then decided to give it one more shot and recorded their first real demo "who will you serve?" [2000] a 5 song demo cassette using a drum machine they called B.I.L.L. The 1st pressing was originally only limited to 13 copies. However, due to increased demand they ended up releasing two more separate pressings of 13. It was also around this time that they recruited then Full Scale Riot drummer Steven Flores aka the Machine Gun – who they had been trying to get as their drummer for some time - as their first live drummer. This was all during 2000. They played a few parties opening for F.S.R. and realized something was missing. By the end of 2000 they had met someone who they felt fit the still emerging FTM mold and who brought something fresh to the table. Thus, Adan De La Torre [who Will & Carlos had met through school] joined the ranks of FTM as their 2nd Rhythm Guitarist. It was with this addition that helped to solidify the unit and make Fuck the Main$tream an unstoppable force! It should be noted that between '01 & '03 the band wrote and recorded a number of demos - most notably 2003's “DEMOralize EP”. This line up became the longest lasting FTM line up to date and rocked South Texas relentlessly till mid 2005 – even though, Steve had left the band for most of 2004 due to conflicts with his family life and professional life. It was during Steven's hiatus from the band that they decided to continue as previously planned and record and self release a debut full-length. However, instead of merely replacing Steve and completing the album they had been working on, the group decided to take a break from the stage and focus the remainder of the year working on completely new material for a completely different album and to program the album themselves collectively. *It should be noted however, that the original debut album was recorded in its entirety twice – in 2003, both times without vocals due to sound quality issues. The 2nd of which is rumored to still be sitting on the shelves of Adan's old room at his mom's.* Any-who, shortly after completing their new debut album "Sursum Corda" Steve returned to the fold ready to continue a new. It during the promotional shows that followed the release of “Sursum Corda” that Adan parted ways with FTM to pursue life in the BIG CITY. With an open spot in the band and another promotional string of shows being lined up, the band turned to longtime friend Max Keller aka Climaxxx to fill the now vacant spot [Max had previously been prepped for the position of 3rd guitarist, but things didn't pan out]. A month later the band had the honor playing with & meeting Dr. Chud of the Misfits. Chud's management showed interest in FTM, but the group was reluctant and ceased negotiations. Two singles were recorded during this time: an acoustic song “What happened to evol?” when Steve was berifly jailed for a few months in 2006 & a demo version of “heaven lies” - the only FTM recording to feature Max. This line up lasted till mid 2007 when Max and the band felt it best to part ways due to undisclosed reasons. During this time FTM starting tracking a new 3 song EP with the South Texas based independent label Spinalcore Records. Shortly after tracking the drums, long time guitarist Carrie A. decided she needed some time to herself and took an extended break which ended in her inevitably making the decision to leave the band indefinitely. With the recent turn of events Will took over guitar duties till a proper replacement was found and the band continued to write and practice as a 3 piece. Needless to say, production on the EP was halted by fall and it was decided a new release should contain new material relevant to the current line up. Work on a demo version of a new song called “Over the View” commenced . The music was tracked with Jacob Longoria of The Blasturds filling in on guitar. However, the music ended up being lost before the track could be finished. Frustrated at the band's current disposition, Steven soon felt the need to take a break from the band as well. Leaving only Will & Carlos to carry on. No problem, since they were there from the start. As pressure & tensions rose and things began to seem more bleak & uncertain for the band's future. Will, who had been homeless & coach surfing for most of the previous year due a series of unfortunate events - found it increasingly difficult to justify staying in a town that had nothing to offer him, especially if there was no one left who cared to carry on the band he had spent the last 7 years fighting against all odds to man. There comes a time in a persons life when they must count their loses. So the 22yr old high school dropout left town and headed south to Kingsville, where he got his G.E.D. and immediately enrolled in the local University. Meanwhile, back in Beeville Carrie, Steven, and all too soon Carlos were briefly reunited as the live band for local shock-rockers TOXI TRAUMATIC. None the less, the group's hiatus didn't last long. It seems old passions die-hard and within his 1st semester of college Will met & befriended a level headed drummer by the name of Stacy Vasquez who was originally from Houston and who was the drummer for the local Houston based metal act CINEMA OF FEAR. They clicked and started a short lived metal band called DEATH'S HEAD. Though, the band's existence was brief, within a few weeks of its demise the two began writing new material for an unknown project. Originally, in the wake of Death's Head's demise Will sought to record the last song he had written for FTM entitled “Just One More” - a short number with a title that seemed to sum things up. The song was tracked with the help of Stacy. By this time two were roommates with a jam pad. The song appeared on the 2008 Fuck the Main$tream Records compilation “Music From the Frontline”. The “end” merely meant a new beginning and shortly thereafter Fuck the Mainstream was officially reborn. In no time at all Carlos was back on bass and working with the group on a new album; 2009's “Time Waits For No One” - the group's 2nd full-length . For the entire year of 2008 they recorded, wrote, practiced, and fine tuned as a three piece. By January 2009 the newly reformed band was ready to do some warmup shows to test the new “surrounding waters”. Longtime friend & fan of the band Adam Gonzales aka Cowboy of Feeling Zero/OBLITERATES fame was called in to handle some of the live guitar duties. They cram-practiced older material for a month, booked a couple of small local gigs, and then Adam went to jail. Former rhythm guitarist Max Keller aka Climaxxx agreed to fill in for the gigs. Cowboy ended up being released on good behavior and managed to joined the band for the 2nd warm-up gig. He also managed to get on them on the 4th Annual South Texas 420 Fest show – which was the make or break mark of the new run. Needless to say, it was a make show! Two gigs were played with both Max & Adam. The 420 gig was Max's last show with the band to date. The outpouring of positive response from the recent shows was all it took for them to know they had to carry on. Then, that May Stacy parted ways with the band to focus more time on his schooling, and his new found passion for theater. Drummer-less but not hopeless the band instantly started searching for a drummer of the right caliber for the band. It was during this time that the band was still located in two towns – Beeville & Kingsville - two hours apart from each other. Once off probation Adam soon relocated to Kingsville & a new drummer by the name of Mike Valdez was found to fill the newly vacated position. Prior to relocating to Kingsville for school Mike had drummed for the Del Rio based metal group Ferrum. He was a friend of Adam's cousin who knew the band was looking for a drummer. Both were also students at the local University. Practice resumed, new songs were written, and all too soon the band was back playing shows by that August. Carlos soon relocated to Kingsville to attend university and to be with the band. Since then, the band has been playing shows across the Texas coast non-stop! September 30th saw the release of the band's sophomore full-length self-release "Time waits for no one". The band has also recently wrapped up recording sessions with Spinalcore Records in Corpus Christi,TX for a new EP entitled “Sunlit in Sin” that will see release this December through shows,and that will be released in select local music stores & online in January 2010. New songs are already in the works for an even newer release, due out spring 2010, for which the group is currently scouting for a label to release the said EP through. With new releases in the horizon and shows already being booked for the coming year of 2010, a spring tour in the works, new shirts, stickers, DVD's, a live album, and buttons in the works - things seem on the up and up for Fuck the Main$tream! F.T.M. Onward!!! Here's a few interesting FTM “fun” facts: : They managed to sell over 600 of their "Fallen Angel” T-shirts locally [Bee County & Surrounding Areas] without distribution within roughly a year. You can download select FTM songs past and present, along with some rare ones too all for free from the band's soundclick.com page: www.soundclick.com/fuckthemainstream People have FTM tattoos, and none of them are in the band! Everyone in the band listens to something the others hate! The Music is tried and true, and the words are filled with more conviction then most mens lives! They almost always give out free crap at their shows, and who doesn't like free crap?!? People have been known to injure themselves, be injured, and injure others in at their shows! The band is registered with Bandnames.com The group can be found on over fifty independent music sites! Their MySpace page is updated more frequently[daily] then any of of the bands other sites [monthly].There you can find new pics, more songs, videos, updates, shows & more: www.myspace.com/fuckthemainstream The group has been appeared in articles & interviews for local papers, zines, newsletters, and even once on cable access TV! The group has written over 85 original songs in the past nine years. Currently, the songs "Betrayed" & “Over the View” are receiving airplay on local college radio station KTAI 91.1 FM. The songs are from the band's latest release "Time waits for no one". The band also has songs being played on www.metalheadradio.com & www.toxiktunes.com!!! A more complete discography can be found on the bands offical website: fuckthemainstream.tk A limited promotional run of 25 t-shirts celebrating the upcoming EP “Sunlit In Sit” have already been distributed. The band ONLY performed originals for the last nine years until recently we when they started performing a cover of Beck's “Mutherfucker”. Footage from the 2009 shows can be found on youtube by searching “Fuck the Main$tream” The band runs an independent label apptley named Fuck the Main$tream Records that has been releasing their music along with other local bands since early 2001! For information visit: www.fuckthemainstreamrecords.com & www.myspace.com/ftmartists